The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed a regulation to allow the importation into the United States of Icelandic eiderdown from wild nesting common eiders under limited and very specific conditions.
"Icelanders have demonstrated that the sustainable harvest of eider down from wild common eider populations continues to boost their efforts to protect this migratory bird and its habitat," said Service Director Steve Williams. "The Service hopes that allowing the importation of eiderdown into the United States will further encourage private landowners in Iceland to conserve the common eider."
Icelanders have used eiderdown for more 11 centuries and have exported it since the 14th century. From May to July, private landowners in Iceland collect down generally twice each season, taking great care to avoid disturbing brooding hens, replacing down removed from the nest with dry grass or hay. Recent studies conducted by the Icelandic Museum of Natural History show no evidence that down collection from wild populations has had any negative impact on the birds, including their ability to reproduce successfully.
Iceland has, since 1847, prohibited eider hunting. This ban, along with predator control and habitat management programs, has resulted in an increase of wild common eider populations. Populations of common eiders found elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere appear to be declining. Of the three other Northern Hemisphere eider species, the status of the king eider is essentially unknown, while spectacled and Steller
